


You Fall in The Deep and I'll Always Find You

by ArielFabulous



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, M/M, Other, mermaid - Freeform, mermaid!louis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-07
Updated: 2013-10-07
Packaged: 2017-12-28 18:37:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/995191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArielFabulous/pseuds/ArielFabulous
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry is on holiday and Louis is a mermaid and that's really all you need to know.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Fall in The Deep and I'll Always Find You

**Author's Note:**

> This is all napbuddies fault.
> 
> There will be smut in later chapters, pinky promise!
> 
> The title is from Justin Timberlake's song Blue Ocean Floor. 
> 
> Enjoy!

In retrospect, Harry should have seen this coming. His mum did warn him to not wander off, as it was very likely that he would meet some very unsavory characters. Having a holiday on the island of Corsica is something Anne always wanted, and so Harry has found himself spending the third day in a row on the beach and he is so bored that he wants to cry. Time seems to drag and linger like sand in your shoes, so he went for a walk. Told Gemma, told his mum, and went for a walk on the beach in his swimming trunks and tee shirt.

 

As he stands in the cave opening, about an hour's walk away from where he left his beach towel, Harry ponders how 'just a walk' turned into 'wandering off'. It’s a pleasant train of thought, but he doesn't get to follow it, as he's distracted by a trickle of laughter from inside the cave. Harry ignores his instinct to run away, and walks closer. The beach is rockier here, and each step must be careful and deliberate if he doesn't want to fall. The laughter gets louder as he gets closer to the cave, the smooth cave walls funneling the sound outwards. Harry hooks his head around the edge of the cave, and peeks in.

 

The cave holds a large pool that Harry looks dark and deep, with a few large rocks in the center. On the rocks are three women, except Harry knows they aren’t women. They are mermaids. Women generally have two legs, whereas these creatures have long tails with pearlescent scales and shiny fins. Their hair is long and tangled, their chests bare except for crudely made necklaces of shells and stones. Their high pitched laughter is shrill, but bubbly and inviting. Their faces look almost human, but with the alluring effect of something trying to look human, but not quite. Three of the mermaids are sitting on the rocks in the center of the pool, and he spies another who seems to be doing strange flipping tricks in the water to the great amusement of her friends. However, when Harry sees the fourth mermaid pull themselves up onto a flat plane on the center rock, he sees that this mermaid is not a mermaid, but a mer—man?. His torso has leaner curves and broader shoulders, and of course, no breasts. His light brown hair is nearly as long as the mermaids around him, but is loosely braided in a single plait down his back, and Harry catches flashes of blue eyes as he laughs.

 

As Harry stares, mouth agape, he carelessly loses his footing on the jagged rocks near the entrance of the cave, causing a mini-rockalanche. The sound of tumbling rocks halts the mermaids’ laughter immediately, and Harry instantly feels eight eyes on him, glowing in the shadows of the cave. He hears one-two-three splashes as the three mermaids instantly dive into the pool, leaving only the merman behind, his gaze heavy and penetrating, even from over 10 meters away. Harry recoils back around the edge of the cave, breathing fast and shallow breaths. He braves one more look back, and nearly jumps out of his skin. In no time at all, the merman has swum to the edge of the pool, feet away from the cave entrance. His forearms rest on the edge, golden skin with flecks of blue scales trailing to his elbows, with his chin on his hands. He gives Harry a curious look, only enhanced by his sharp cheekbones and slightly pointed nose. He licks his thin pink lips with a greenish tongue, and starts speaking. Or, at least Harry assumes he must be speaking, but not in a language that he has ever heard before. It sounds like water crashing onto rocks and a kitten purring. Harry then finds his voice, stuttered and shaky. “I—I’m sorry, I c-c-can’t understand you I—“

 

“Ah, you’re English then?” the merman says in a high clear tone with an accent that recalls Spanish, French and Italian all at once, and yet is none of them at all. Harry swallows. “Yes. Hello I—I’m Harry.” He winces internally, realizing that it was a very stupid idea to tell this creature his real name. He has forgotten his fairy tales, what being seventeen and nearly grown. The merman seems to know this, and gives Harry a wide close-mouthed grin, a devilish glint in his eye that seems more cheeky than malevolent. “Hello Harry. Won’t you come out from there so I can see you?” He opens his eyes wide in a pleading look and tucks his chin slightly, and Harry obliges, though he proceeds with caution. He is enchanted by this lovely creature, but remains wary nonetheless. “What’s your name—I mean, what’re you called?” Harry says, approaching the edge of the pool with slow even steps, sitting down about three feet from the pool’s edge.

 

The merman looks at Harry quizzically for a moment, then shifts his forearm to be upright, placing his chin in his palm, looking up and away, as if recalling what his name might be. The movement is smooth, yet eerily so. “Hmmm…call me…Louis.” He finally says, flicking his eyes back to Harry. Harry never really understood the phrase ‘getting lost in someone’s eyes’ until he looks into Louis’s clear blue irises, the pupils of which are slightly elliptical, as if they were once slit-like but have rounded with time. He find himself drawn into the deep blue color and finds himself saying aloud what he was thinking, “You have beautiful eyes.” Louis just laughs, high and tinkling. “That is what everyone tells me. Though I also like yours too.” Louis gives him a demure look through his long sweeping lashes, and Harry smiles, picking up on the flirting game he has found himself in. “Well,” he says, breaking eye contact to play with the pebbles by his feet, “I bet you say that to all the girls.” He looks back up at Louis and winks at him, and Louis laughs again, this time more softly.

 

Their light banter is interrupted by a crack of thunder out at sea. Harry looks away from the cave towards the sea and spots an incoming storm cloud. “I have to get back.” He says, rising unsteadily on the uneven rocks. “Will I see you tomorrow Harry?” Louis asks, eyebrows high with the question. Harry looks into Louis eyes again. Another beautiful mistake. “Sure. Same time, same place?” Harry asks as Louis leans back into the water, casually flicking his fins against the pool’s edge. “Of course.” Louis replies, smiling more with his eyes than his mouth. Harry turns to go, taking only a few steps before he turns back to get another look at Louis—but he’s already gone. Only the faint remnants of a splash remain.

 

\------

 

Harry returns to the beach and hour later, drenched from the storm, his mother clicking her tongue as she hands him a towel. He returns to the hotel, and after his hands stop shaking, he takes a hot shower. He stands under the hot water, letting the warmth return to his body. He runs over the details of the cave, still trying to decide if Louis was real or not, resolving to find out tomorrow upon returning.

 

That night, Harry dreams of a boy with blue eyes and golden skin. He sees him being pulled under the tide, then resurfacing through the foam with magnificent blue fins. He is beautiful, painfully so.


End file.
